Dutch Umbrella Company Blog General Changes pursuant to the Work and Security Act and the new NBBU Collective Agreement

Changes pursuant to the Work and Security Act and the new NBBU Collective Agreement

On March 16, 2015 by Dutch Umbrella Company

The Work and Security Act was passed by the Dutch Senate on 10 June 2014. When the bill was being discussed in the Senate, the Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Mr Lodewijk Asscher, promised that the initial amendments would not come into effect on 1 July 2014, as originally proposed, but rather on 1 January 2015. However, a new NBBU collective agreement for temporary workers which complies with the Work and Security Act did come into effect on 1 June 2014. WePayPeople abides by this collective agreement, which will remain effective for the next five years.

For this first year, the temporary worker’s legal status will not change in any way. However, pursuant to the Work and Security Act, a few other changes, not related to the collective agreement, will come into effect on 1 January 2015.

The NBBU collective agreement for temporary workers tends to be more flexible than legislation governed by the Work and Security Act, and as such offers temporary employment agencies greater scope for opportunity. For instance, under the NBBU collective agreement, hirers and temporary workers can only terminate temporary work contracts within a relatively short period from the commencement of the contract, but fixed-term contracts may be entered into for a longer term, i.e. 5.5 years, as opposed to 3.5 years under the Work and Security Act.

Please find the main changes outlined below

General changes

As of 1 January 2015, fixed-term contracts may no longer contain a non-compete clause, unless the inclusion of such a clause is necessary on account of compelling business interests.
As of 1 January 2015, hirers must give notice when they intend to terminate a temporary worker’s contract. Workers on a temporary contract with a term of six months or more must be notified in writing, at least one month before their contract expires, as to whether or not their contract will be renewed.
As of 1 January 2015, contracts with a term of six months or less may no longer contain a probation period clause.
As of 1 July 2015, severance packages will be replaced by a so-called transition payment. If a contract with a term of 24 months or more is terminated, an employee is entitled to a transition payment in accordance with the Work and Security Act.
As of 1 July 2015, persons who have been made redundant will only receive unemployment benefits for a maximum of 24 months.

Phases 1 and 2

As of 1 July 2015, temporary workers cannot be offered zero-hour contracts once they have served contracts for 26 weeks. Once a worker has held a job for 26 weeks, he is entitled to payment of at least three hours’ work, irrespective of whether he is still performing his duties during these hours.
The 130-week maximum term for temporary work for clients in Phases 1 and 2 will remain in effect until 1 July As of 1 January 2016, the maximum term for temporary work for clients in Phases 1 and 2 will be reduced to 78 weeks.

Phase 3

Phase 3 will remain unchanged until 1 July 2015. As of 1 July 2015, temporary work agencies will only be allowed to offer clients who are deemed to be in Phase 3 six temporary work contracts in four years (including intervals of less than six months).

Phase 4

The moment when Phase 4 will be deemed to have commenced will remain unchanged until 1 July 2015. As of 1 July 2015, a new maximum term of four years’ temporary work will come into effect for clients in Phase 3.

AOW-plus phase

The 130-week maximum term for temporary work for clients in Phases 1 and 2 will remain effective until 1 July As of 1 January 2016, the maximum term for temporary work for clients in Phases 1 and 2 will be reduced to 78 weeks.
Changes relating to the duration of Phase 3 will come into effect on 1 January 2016. The exact nature of these changes will depend on legislation which is still to be passed.

If you have any queries regarding the aforementioned amendments to the Work and Security Act, please do not hesitate to contact us on telephone number +31 (0) 20 820 15 60.